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Centenarian eager to vote for first woman president

Posted 7/12/16

The first time that Frances Derengowski voted in a presidential election was for Franklin D. Roosevelt in November 1932.

He would be elected for four terms to make history as the longest serving …

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Centenarian eager to vote for first woman president

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The first time that Frances Derengowski voted in a presidential election was for Franklin D. Roosevelt in November 1932.

He would be elected for four terms to make history as the longest serving U.S. President.

Now, at 100 years old, Frances once again hopes to become part of history.

“I will vote for the first woman president,” she said without mentioning the name of Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic candidate.

About 80 relatives and friends honored Frances on her actual birth date, July 9, at Eagle Mountain Golf Club.

Her daughter, Eileen Disken, said her mother is proof that “you can get old but not lose it.” Other than a slight loss of hearing, Disken said her mother is in amazing health.

Frances credits her good health to her naturopathic physician, Dr. Allyn Krieger-Fiedler, who diagnosed that the spry senior had celiac disease and took her off medications and put her on a gluten-free diet.

Born in Pittsburg, PA., the former Frances Sullivan attended elementary school in Philadelphia and high school in New Jersey. She married Adam, an engineer. Their first home in Cherry Hill, N.J., was a Sears Roebuck mail catalog house.

When she was young, few career choices were open to women. She worked as a secretary for an automotive company and later in a school system.

“I have had a very good life, even though I was born and grew up in the Depression,” she said.

One regret in life is not attending college, although her four younger siblings did.

Frances was living in Florida when her only daughter moved to Fountain Hills in 1998 and encouraged her to come along.

“It was the best thing I ever did,” she said.

Frances lived independently in a condominium until about five years ago when she moved into the Tuscan Manor Assisted Living group home on Windchime Drive.

She stays in touch with her two sons, Adam in Barrington, N.J., and Mark in Atlanta, Ga.; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, through Facebook posts and emails. A 98-year-old sister, Betty, lives in New Jersey.

An avid reader and crossword puzzle fan, she is a member of Church of the Ascension and its book club.

One of her memorable travel experiences was on a trip to London at the age of 84 with her then 82-year-old sister.

In their haste to get off the wrong double-decker tourist bus, Frances fell off the moving bus to the pavement. She bruised her thigh but was not seriously injured.

In her earlier years in town, Frances was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and a Purple Person at the arts and crafts festivals.